Interleukin-1 induces c-fos and c-jun gene expression in T helper type II cells through different signal transmission pathways.

Interleukin (IL)-1 induces proliferation and expression of several protooncogenes in the T helper 2 cell line D10A. We have analyzed the signal transmission pathways activated by IL-1 in these cells, leading to the expression of c-jun and c-fos. IL-1 induced c-jun gene transcription and mRNA expression by means of a pathway dependent on protein tyrosine kinase activity since tyrphostin, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, inhibited this induction. This mechanism of transmission signaling was independent of protein kinase C (PKC) and was linked to the 80-kDa IL-1 receptor (IL-1R). In addition, phorbol esters did not induce c-jun mRNA expression, whereas c-fos mRNA expression mediated by IL-1 dependent on PKC; this pathway was linked to a different, still unidentified IL-1R that was functional in the D10A cell line. Accumulation of intracellular cAMP generated by IL-1 through the 80-kDa IL-1R negatively regulated c-fos expression which was induced by IL-1 through PKC activation. We conclude that IL-1 modulates the expression of c-fos in D10A cells by occupying of two independent IL-1R that are linked to different signal transduction pathways.